Glass cutter



A. A. ARNOLD.

GLASS CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV 30, 1917.

Patented Aug. 22, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

H H HRNOLD A; A. ARNOLD.

GLASS CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED N-0V.30.1917.

1,42%052. Patented Aug. 22 1922,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FI- Fl: HRNoLij UNHTEID PATENT orrrca,

ARTHUR A. ARNOLD, 0F SOUTI-IIBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASS-IGNOB TOAMERICAN OPTICAL COMPANY, OF SOUTI-IBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, A VOLUNTARYASSOCIA- TION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

GLASS CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgntgd lx'ulfl 22 1922,

Application filed November 30, 1917. Serial No. 204,636.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that l, ARTHUR A. ARNOLD, citizen of the United States,residing at Southbridge, in the county of Worcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements inGlass Cutters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in glass cuttersand more par ticularly to an improved machine adapted for use in cuttingglass into ellipses and other irregular shapes. I

The main object of this invention is the provision of an improvedmachine of this character, which is especially adapted for use incutting ophthalmic lenses to desired size and shape.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of new andimproved means for retaining the former in position upon the machinewhereby the same can be quickly and readily removed or replaced whendesired.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of novelmeans for relatively retaining the lens cutter in its respectiveposition with regard to the former so that the cutter will travel in thepath outlined by the movement of the guide travelling over the former.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision ofmeans whereby the guide which travels over the former is readilyadjusted whereby the lens cutter is readily adj usted with respect tothe former so that ellipses of various sizes and shapes may be readilyoutlined in the path over which the cutter travels;

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in thenovel features of construction and the combination and arrangement ofparts hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in the claims andshown in the accompanying; drawings in which- Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of a glass cutting machine constructed in accordance with myinvention.

Figure 2' is a similar view taken from the opposite side of the machineto the view illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken through the lower portionof the machine.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through the cuttingmember and Figure 5 is a detailed perspective view of the former.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view partially in section illustrating the lensclamping and former holding devices.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings in which the variousnumerals designate the different parts of the machine throughout theseveral views, the numeral 1 indicates the base of my improved machine,preferably hollow in cross section as indicated in Figure?) and providedwith a central standard 2 which extends upwardly from the base asuitable distance to provide a support for various parts of the machine.A supporting arm, 3, extends upwardly from the base, 1, at one sidethereof and is provided at its upper end with an inwardly projectingarm, 4c, having a collar, 5, at its inner end which forms a casing forthe mechanism that actuates the lens-holding member.

The standard, 2, which is clearlyvillustrated in Figure 3, is providedwith an inwardly extending annular portion, 7 having depending therefroma sleeve, 8, and; mounted for rotation upon the upper end of thestandard, 2, is'a. wheel, 9, having a suitable hand grip, 10, upon itsouter edge and provided at its central portion with a down wardlyprojecting collar, 11, which is mounted for rotation within the sleeve,8. The upper face of the wheel, 9, is provided with a slightly raisedportion as shown at 12 and mounted thereon is a lens-supporting block,13,having a substantially oval shaped cavity, 14:, formedin its upperface to receive a supporting pad, 15, upon which the various lenses arepositioned. The supporting block, 13, is provided with a centrallyarranged shaft, 16, which is mounted with in the collar, 11, and extendsat its lower end below the lower end of the collar, 11, and the sleeve,'8, whereby the same projects into the lower end of the standard, 2. Thelower end of the shaft, 16, is provided with a transverse opening orslot, 17 adapted to receive a pin, 18, which extends inwardly from oneside of the casing, 2, whereby to limit the upward movement of the lenssupporting block, 13.

In order that the lens block, 13. may be readily raised and lowered atthe will of the operator, a lever',"19, is mounted for pivotal movementwithin'the casing 2 at a point adjacent the base member 1, and isprovided at its outer end with a handle, 20, the inner end of said leverengaging with the lower end of the shaft, 16, whereby pressure upon thehandle, 20, will readily raise and lower the shaft, 16, and at the sametime impart movement to'the lens-supporting block, The hand-wheel, 9, issecurely retained in position upon the upper end of the standard, 2, byhaving the plate, 21, secured to the inner end of the collar, 11, bymeans of the screw member, 22, the outer edge of said plate engaging theinner end of the sleeve, 8, whereby any outward movement on the part ofthe collar, 11, will be prevented.

Extending up from one side of the hand wheel, 9, is a pivot post, 23,upon which is mounted a rotatable standard, 24, having an outwardlyprojecting arm, 25, extending from the upper end thereof, andterminating in a sleeve portion. Pivotally mounted.

upon the upper end of the post, 23, is a ret-aining arm, 26, the'innerend. of which is recessed as at 27 for engagement with the lower end ofthe transverseouter end, 28, oi:

- the arm 4:. The portion 28 is provided with a longitudinal recess, 29,adapted to receive a key member, 30,- formed within the central openingof the former, 31. From this it will be noted that the former 31 can bereadily placed in'position upon the lower end of the portion 28 andsecurely held against ro tation by means of-the key, 30. It will benoted from Figure 2 that the former is supported in its operativeposition by having the upper edge of the arm, 26, -engag- 7 ing with thelower face of the former.

The sleeve portion of the arm 25 rotatably supports the cutter propercomprising a lower section 39 and an upper portion or head providedwith-a guide-way 32. Sliding in the guide-way 32 is the former engagingguide arm 33, the inner'end of said guide arm engaging the former, 31,and it will be apparent from the accompanying drawings that this guidearm may be readily adjusted within the guideway, 32,- in order 1 toposition the lens cutter inaccordance with the shape and size of thedifferent lenses to be out. Upon the guide 32 is an upwardly projectingpin 346Xt611di11g into a longitudinal slot, 35, formed within the guidearm,

33, wh'erebyto limit the sliding movement 6 of the arm within'the guide.It will be noted that one side of theguide member, 32, is provided witha plurality of graduations as indicated in 36 and the arm, 33, isadjusted with respect to these graduations by means ofa set screw, 37,rotatably secured 1 ,eevp 52 in the downwardly projectingouter end, 38,of the arm 33 and having-threaded engagement with the end of the guide,32, whereby rotation of the screw number 37 will readily actuate the arm33 within the guide. The arm 33 is preferably provided with a suitablemark or designation cooperating with the graduations 36 inorder that theexact adjustment of the contact or guidearm may be most easilydetermined;

Supported by the sleeve portion of the arm, 25, and rotated with respectthereto by movement oi the arm33 is the lens cutter, 39, which includesa slotted supporting block, 10, adapted to receive the adjustableholder, 41, which carries the cutting point,

4-2. Extending through the support, 40, is

a transverse pin, 13, extended through a slot, 424, in the cutting blockwhereby the block may be adjusted to various positions within the holderand securely clamped in any of the adjusted positions by means of thenut, 15, which is threaded upon theouter end of the pin to bring theside portions of the holder, d0, into clamping engagement with theblock, 11. The outer end of the arm, 25, is provided at a" pointadjacent the guide, 32, with a slotted extension, 16, adapted to receivethe'reduced end portion, 47, which is tormed'upon the adjustable nut.18. This nut, 48, is carried by one end of the coil spring, 49,andthreaded thereon to adjust the tension of the spring. It will benoted that the other end of the spring is engaged withthe arm,26,-whereby.

arm 26 and the outer end of the arm 25 will be held in their operativepositions with retive positions.

In removing and replacing the various shapes of :formers'upon the lowerend of the portion 28, the nut 48 is loosened torelease the tension ofthe spring 19 whereby this nut may be readily disengaged from the slotextension 16' so that the inner end of the arm 26 may be disengaged frombeneath the former l1 and the former may be readily removed from thelower end ofthe portion 28 and a new one placed thereon. It will benoted that the inner end ofthearm 26 may be readily disengaged from thelower end of the portion 28 by grasping the outer end 50 of the arm 26and swinging the same upon its pivot 51. Furthermore, after the nut 48has been grasped to swing the" coil spring 49 outwardly away from theslotted portion 46, the inner end of the guide arm 33 may be readilydisengaged from theouter'edge of the former. It will be apparent fromthe above that the arm 26 and the inner end of the'guide arm 33 aresimultaneously released from engagement with the former so that it maybe readily detached from the lower end of the portion 28.

In cutting the various lenses, they are first arranged in position uponthe rubber pad 15 and retained against movement thereon by means of aclamp member 52 illustrated as in the from of a circular portion 53having arms 54 and connecting the circular portion with a bearing 55connected to the lower end of an adjustable rod 56 which extendsupwardly through the transverse portion 28 of the outer end of the armThe rod 56 is vertically slidable through the bushing 28 having on itsupper end a knob 65 by which it may be lifted against the pressure ofthe spring 66 bearing on the collar 67 of the rod. This spring isadjustably held under tension through use of the nut 57 screwed into theupper partof the bushing 28 and bearing against the u per end of thespring. From this it will be apparent that after the lens has beenplaced in position upon the pad it will be securely held againstmovement during the cutting operation.

In the operation of my improved machine, the lens is first positionedupon the pad 15 and the member 52 engaged with the lens to securely holdthe same against movement upon the pad. The former 31. is then placed inposition upon the lower end of the por tion 28 and the arm 26 swunginwardly beneath the former to retain the same in posi tion. The springa9 is then placed in position between the arms 26 and 25 and the guidearm 33 adjusted within the guide arm 32 according to the size of lens tobe cut, the lever 19 is then actuated through the medium of the handle20 to raise the lens 15 so that the same will contact with the actuatingpoint 42. The hand-wheel 9 is then rotated whereby the cutting point 4.2will travel over the upper surface of the lens and cut the same in sizeand shape with respect to the size and shape of the former. It will beapparent that by having the inner end of the guide arm 33 traveling overthe outer edge of the former the cutting point d2 will be retained insuch a position that it will travel over a path upon the upper surfaceof the lens which is outlined by the shape of the former. After the'lenshas been cut to the desired size and shape, the lever 19 is released toremove the guide point from engagement with the lens and the rod 56 ismoved upwardly to disengage the member 52 from the upper surface of thelens whereby the lens may be readily removed from the pad 15.

From the above description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings it will be readily apparent that I have provided a simple anddurable machine for cutting ophthalmic lenses into various sizes andshapes. it the same time it will be apparent that the former wnichcontrols the shape of lens being cut is retained in position in such amanner that the same can be quickly and readily exchanged. It will alsobe noted that by having the hand-wheel below' the cutting point when themachine is operated to cut the lenses, the hands will not interfere inany way with the operation of the machine as is usually the case withthe machines in use at the present time wherein the cutting operation iscarried out through the means of a crank handle disposed in a positionabove the cutter.

I claim:

1. A device of the class described including a stationary base, arotatable member supported. by the base, a non-rotatable lens supportcarried by the rotatable member, meansv on the base engaging the lenssup port for holding it against rotation, means for clamping a lens infixed position upon the support, a standard supported upon the rotatablemember, an arm extending outwardly therefrom, a former supported abovethe lens support, a cutter rotatably supported upon the outer end ofsaid arm, a. second arm carried by the standard for engage ment with theformer to retain the same in its operative position, and a guide membercarried by the first arm for engagement with the former whereby thecutter will travel over the lens support in a path outlined by theformer.

2. A lens cutting machine including a non-rotatable lens support, asupporting member rotatable with respect to the lens support, means forclamping lens in fixed position upon the lens-support, a movablestandard carried by'the rotatable member, an arm projecting outwardlyfrom the standard at substantially right angles thereto, a formersupported above the lens support, a pivoted arm supported at the upperend of the standard and having one end engaging the former to retain thesame in its operative position, a cutter carried by the first arm, anadjustable guide member supported above the cutter and engaging theformer, yieldable means connecting said arms for retaining them in theirrespective positions wh'ereoy the cutter will be moved over the lenssupport in a path outlined by the former.

3. A device of the class described including a stationary base member, anon-rotatable lens support arranged above the base and having a shaftextending downwardlv into the base, a pivoted lever carried by the basefor engagement with the lower end of the shaft to raise and lower thelens support, means carried by the base and having'engageme'nt withthe'shaft to limit the movement of'the lens support, a former above'thelens support, a cutter, and means for moving the cutter over the lenssupport in a path outlined by the former.

4:. A. lens cutting machine including a stationary base, a movablemember supported upon the base, a non-rotatable lens sup port supportedby the movable member,

means connectingthe base and support to upon the support, a removableformer disposed above the lens support,"- an adjustable cutter carriedby the movable member, and an adjustable guide arm carried by the outterwhereby the cutterwill be moved in a path over the lens support outlinedby the former.

6. A lens cutting machine including a stationary base, a movablemembersupported thereby, a lens support, means for clamping a lens in fixedposition thereon, a former arranged above the lens, a pivoted armcarried by the movable member for engagement with the former retainingthe same in its operative position, a cutter, an adjust: able guide armcarried by the cutter and en gaging the former, and yieldable meansdisposed between the pivoted armand the cutter for retaining the guidearm in engagement'with the former whereby upon rotation of the movablemember the cutter will be moved over the lens support in a path outlinedby the former. l

7. A lens cutter including a base, a nonrotatable lens table carried bythe base and a rotatable cutter bearing member swive'led to the basebeneath the lens table and hav ing a cutter bearing arm extending overthe edge of the table to bring the cutter into operative relationthereto.

8. A lens cutter including a base having a rotatable cutter carriageswiveled thereon, a bracket rising from the base and bearing a lensclamp and'stationary former, a post rising from the cutter carriage anda pair of arms 'swiveled on the post and projecting to opposite sides ofthe bracket, one of said arms engaging the bracket and the other of saidarms vhaving a former engaging mem her and a cutter, and meansresiliently connecting the arms to cause the former engaging member tofollow the contour of the former.

9. A lens cutter including a base and a carriage rotatably mounted onthesbase, a bracket overhanging the center of rotation of the carriageand a former loosely mounted on the bracket, the carriage having an armslidably engaging the bracket below the former for holding the former inraised position, and having a second arm slidably engaging the formerand followingv the con tour thereof, said arms engaging the former atsubstantially diametrically opposite points, and resilient meansconnecting the arms to retain them in opposite position.

10. A lens cutter including a base, a carriage rotatably mounted on thebase, a bracket rising from the base and overlying the carriage toprovide a former support, and a former securing device, and a cuttermounted on the carriage andmovable therewith, substantially as and'forthe purpose described. if

11. A lens cutter including a base, a carriage rotatably mounted onthe-base, a nonrotatable lens holder supported bythe carriage, meanssecuring the lens holder against rotation with the carriage, and acutter arm on the carriage extending inwardly over the lens holdertooperate. on a lens mounted thereon.

' 12. A lens cutter including a base, 'a carriage rotatably mounted onthe base, a non rotatable lens holder supported by the car riage, meanssecuring the lens holder against rotation with the carriage, and acutter arm on the carriage extending inwardly over the lens holder tooperate on a lens: mounted thereon, andmeans for raising thetablerelative to the carriage to bring a lens into engagement with thecutter.

13.- A lens cutter including a base, a carriage rotatably mounted on thebase, a nonrotatable lens holder supported by the car riage, meanssecuring the lens holder against rotation with the carriage, a cutterarm on the carriage extending inwardly over the lens table to operate ona 1 lensv mounted thereon, a former bracket rising from the base andoverlying the lens holder, a former carried thereby, and means on thecutter arm engaging the former to control its movement over the lensholder.

14. A lens cutter including a base, a carriage rotatably mounted on thebase, a nonrotatable lens holder supported by the carriage, meanssecuring the lens holder against rotation with the carriage, a cutterarm on the carriage extending inwardly over the lens holder to operateon a lens mounted thereon, a bracket carried by the base and overhangingthe holder, a former on the bracket and a locking device on the carriageengaging the bracket and former for retaining the latter in position.

15. A lens cutter including a base, a carriage rotatably mounted-on thebase, a nonrotatable lens holder supported by the carriage, meanssecuring the lens holder against rotation with the carriage, a cutterarm on the carriage extending inwardly over the lens holder to operateon a lens mounted thereon, a bracket carried by the base and overhangingthe holder, a former on the bracket and a locking device on the carriageengaging the bracket and former for retaining the latter in position,and resilient connections between the locking device and the cutter armfor simultaneously actuating both of said parts.

16. A lens cutter including a base, a boss rising from the base, acarriage member having a dependingslee've portion swiveled in the boss,a lens table vertically slidable through the sleeve on the carriage,means on the base engaging the table to lock it against rotation Withthe carriage member and a cutter mounted on the carriage and overhangingthe lens table.

17. A lens cutter including a base, a boss rising from the base, acarriage member having a depending sleeve portion swiveled in the boss,a lens table vertically slidable through the sleeve on the carriage,means on the base engaging the table to lock it against rotation withthe carriage member, a cutter mounted on the carriage and over hangingthe lens table, and means for relatively shifting the table and cutterto bring the parts into operative relation.

In testimony W ereof, I aflix my signature in the presence 01"? twoWitnesses.

ARTHUR A. ARNOLD.

Witnesses:

H. E; COLEMAN, A. S. CONNER.

